DreadBall Xtreme hit the ground running this year. This latest addition to the Warpath Universe is more than just the “Fight Club” version of DreadBall.

The latest release for Mantic Games DreadBall Xtreme is an exciting addition to their Dreadball line. The Warpath Universe is Mantic Games vision of the future where things are run by giant mega-corporations and not always too smoothly. Here officially sanctioned DreadBall games are to be played in the mega-stadiums and corporately run venues with lots of glitz and glamor the fans have come to expect, and sometimes demand. The DreadBall Governing Body, or DGBy as it’s know by…well everyone, has tight control over all aspects of the games, whether it be the concessions, venues, merchandise, or even the players themselves.

All of the properly sanctioned and approved Dreadball games are officiated by the on site Ref-bots who dutifully attempt watch all things on the pitch at all times. The Eye in the Sky camera is also used when the ref cannot be in every spot at the same time. Unsportsmanlike behavior is never tolerated and sometimes results in the ejection of players. Injured players are quickly shuttled off the pitch to recuperate in their appropriate recovery areas

Dreadball Xtreme has taken everything that has been sanitized out of the “pure” version of Dreadball and brings it back to its roots. Initially, designed to keep non-active troops of the Corporation in top physical form, DreadBall was played in abandoned hangars, warehouses, almost anywhere there was enough room to get a group of like minded players together. Dangerous terrain and even more dangerous players are to be found on the pitch in DreadBall Xtreme.

The base game itself is a plethora of miniature goodness. It comes with two full 8 player teams. The Convict team (above) sponsored by The Warden is made up of hardened criminals who are being used for the entertainment of the crowds in a sort of Blood and Circuses type scenario. (Explosive collars included.) These players ahave all positional players in their teams; Strikers, who handle the DreadBall with bonuses to do so, Guards, who are the players to bring the hurt to all opponents with bonuses to their rolls, and Jacks, who can do a little bit of both positions but no bonuses.

The second team is the Kaluyshi (below), the more feral version of the Asterians from the Warpath universe, sponsored by Blaine, the ever present character in all of Mantic Games’ universes. The Kalyshi have only two positional players, Strikers and Jacks. They are a much faster and agile team thatn the Convicts, but they are also not as heavily armored.

In addition, it has 9 additional “free agent” models to add a bit more flavor to your team rosters. From programmable practice robots to bizarre alien creatures recruited by the sponsors. These players alow for some diversity when assembling your team from the base game.

The pitch itself is a random set up. Six different layouts allow for better replayability in the various setups. Each game starts with a different layout of where the goals will be placed and what obstacles are on the pitch. Obstacles you say? Yes. Dreadball Xtreme is played wherever the players can find a place to play. This includes warehouses of somewhat dubious character. Some of the terrain is impassable large obstacles that take up a single hex on the mat. Other smaller obstacles contain explosives of varying strength and reliability. Ending up in a hex adjacent to these will result in them going off. Some are duds. Some are, let’s say, a little more “lively” in their explosive capability. This can be incentive to occasionally push your opponents into them.

If you don’t know how to play DreadBall, have no fear. All the rules for playing are included and both games are reverse compatible. The only difference between the two? There is no Ref-bot in DreadBall Xtreme, which means there are no illegal actions. The word “foul” has no meaning in this game. Want to sucker punch someone? It’s encouraged. Kick them when they’re down? Absolutely! The players do not get removed if injured either. They have to make recovery rolls each rush or slip down the sweet, dreamless sleep of the the undiscovered country.

There are future plans for rules to allow sponsors in DreadBall Xtreme to potentially use any player from any team in a sort of strike team/recruitment team building mechanic. This will allow a great diversity of teams among the various sponsors in the game. In DreadBall Xtreme, there are no coaches there are Sponsors. These are the stars of this game. Various underworld, occasionally nefarious people who are the backbone of the Xtreme tournaments. In a campaign or ongoing league setting, they are the ones that “level up.” Allowing them to purchase better players, cheaper MVP’s, etc. Unofficially comments from a Mantic Games employee encourage players to take 70–90 megacredits and just try out a mix matched team. Want a team made of only Orx guards and Judwan strikers? Try them out!

With two more Seasons of DreadBall teams coming out later this year, the future looks as bright and diverse as ever for Mantic Games DreadBall and DreadBall Xtreme.

Any questions/comments are welcome. I can’t say I will have all the answers but I will gladly set things in motion to find out.

Dreadball Xtreme in a Nutshell: Dreadball Unbound, cause we can’t be bothered to fix the Dreadball rules.

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Couldn’t agree more. Also enough of the seperate books already. Tis a pain realising that a certain rule can only be found in one book when you’ve left it at home! Combine the original DB books (with index) into one book – along with rules refinements, fixes.